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BUYER RESOURCES / FORMING TOOLS

Press brake tonnage
& tooling planner

Enter the bend you need to make and the die you have. Estimate the forming force, compare your press rating, and explore other V-openings within the reference range.

90° air bending of mild steel only. Dimensions are inches; all tonnage inputs and results are U.S. short tons (2,000 lb). This estimates a setup for review; it cannot approve tooling or machine operation.

Your bend and machine

Decimals and fractions work: 0.375, 3/8, 1-3/4 or 1 3/4. Enter the length of the bend itself.

For A36 steel, 36 ksi is the minimum yield-strength reference, not the tensile-strength input used here. The 60 ksi tensile value is a starting reference; enter the actual tensile strength for your material. The adjustable 20% allowance is a planning margin, not a certified safety factor.

Available tooling and part constraints

Separate sizes with commas. Leave blank to compare reference sizes; the calculator does not know your shop inventory.

ESTIMATED FORMING FORCE

Your capacity comparison

Ordinary reference V-opening range for this thickness
Mathematical minimum V to fit total press rating with allowance
Maximum bend length at the current V with entered total rating and allowance

The mathematical V threshold is a force calculation only. It can fall outside a usable tooling range. The maximum length also needs a machine bed and load-distribution check.

    V-die options to review

    Openings meeting entered numeric filters — manufacturer tooling review required
    V (in)Force
    U.S. tons    		With allowance
    U.S. tons    		Load
    U.S. tons/ft    		Approx. radius
    in    		Approx. flange
    in

    How this planner works

    Estimated U.S. tons = 575 × thickness² ÷ V-opening × (bend length ÷ 12) × (actual tensile ksi ÷ 60). The planning allowance multiplies the estimate by 1 + allowance ÷ 100. Totals use unrounded calculations.

    Force and geometry estimates do not check every bend condition. Verify actual tool geometry, grain direction, springback, cracking, minimum bend radius, clearances, tool segment loading and the press manufacturer’s permitted loading arrangement. Bottoming and coining require different calculations.

    References: Wysong tonnage calculator, Cincinnati press-brake capacities, WILA tooling load guidance, and NORAMARK reference geometry estimates.

    Open printable tonnage chart ↗

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